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That important question ties into a question that you asked at the previous meeting as well. I know that you recognise that local authorities know their communities and who the key drivers are in different parts of their communities, whether that is the more deprived areas or the less deprived ones. Partnership working is definitely happening, and COSLA is part of the Save a Life for Scotland partnership, as you know.

Another important thing, which Steven Short touched on, is that businesses are often willing to get involved in supporting fundraising, as is the British Heart Foundation. As I said, we are looking at a paper that was worked on at the most recent Save a Life for Scotland meeting, and we will be taking decisions based on that.

I absolutely agree. The targets will have been set with clinical advice and guidance. Targets should be a stretch, because we want people in Scotland to be healthy and to maintain healthy lifestyles. I know from the people who I have met who are living with stroke that some have had better journeys than others. That is how we learn. It is through sharing those stories widely among ���˿��� and more broadly across Scotland that change can happen. I was very heartened by the meeting that I chaired last week, because I heard a group of people who have the same determination to reach those targets.

We need to be aware that the FAST acronym is very well known. Bringing in the “BE”—the balance and the eyes—could produce some false positives, which we would be concerned might impact on clinicians’ ability to treat. That is why, in the additional training resource, we have been very clear that we are focusing on FAST, but we are also ensuring that people are aware that there could be other symptoms. The evidence and the discussions that I have had with the Stroke Association and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland show that their views tie in with that.

If I may, I will refer to my constituency. I met community responders at the Islay show. They have a local community set-up that is led by a couple of retired GPs, who have pulled in other people who are interested, including those in the retained fire service, coastguards and people involved in the lifeboat service. Those people are very community oriented and, as a result, they are community responders. We talked about the cost of ensuring that responders have the right equipment to allow them to respond quickly, so I am very aware of that issue from my constituency.

Part of our work with Save a Life for Scotland relates to—I think that Steven Short talked about this, too—understanding how to have the right co-ordination across Scotland, so that communities understand what they need to be able to do and how to learn. I know of a retired nurse who has supported her community by ensuring that knowledge and training are maintained so that the community can respond to someone having an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

It is very much about engaging with communities and with all the Save a Life for Scotland stakeholders, including the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. I know that Davy Russell asked about how local community areas and planning groups could support the work. That collaboration, which Steven Short talked about, is very important.

I know that you had dialogue with Steven Short about training young people and those of us who are slightly more advanced. I remember getting CPR training in the brownies and in the guides—and, more recently, at a walking football event in Glasgow. He commented that, as long as you know the basics, being prompted by the call handler as to what you should be doing will give you confidence.

All the stakeholders need to be involved, including the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. As I said, in my community, on Islay, other people have been pulled in. Through our connection with Save a Life for Scotland, the Scottish Government is very much looking at the proposals that it has sent us.

Most definitely. As Davy Russell highlighted, a pilot is happening in NHS Forth Valley—we have not had any outcomes from it yet—and I note that NHS Ayrshire and Arran is also considering it.

That is a very fair question. As NHS Forth Valley is taking forward the pilot, I have no information on when it will be complete or when we will get the report. However, your questions are all on the record. Martin Macdonald is here with me today and we will converse with the health board to understand what it is doing, where it is in the pilot and when we can expect the report.

Absolutely—it is a great idea.

I appreciate the questions and it is important for us to get the right healthcare results for Scotland. Robust questions are fine, Mr Ewing, and if I cannot answer them, I am happy to respond in writing.

I will take away what you have just said about reviewing the evidence from Italy. I believe that the work in Denmark was also highlighted to the committee. I am content to have a look at that and respond to the committee with our thoughts. If you will allow me, I will gather some clinical views on that, too.

Extrasensory perception, and all that.

At the start of this evidence session, we talked about the importance of community engagement and ensuring that the community has guardians—that is how Steven Short and others described it. That ensures that, in the community, there is continual refreshment of skills. As I said earlier, when someone is on the phone to the call handler, they will get prompts to tell them what to do.

I would suggest that, if you fancy refreshing those skills, there are a lot of events happening around Scotland. I highlighted the walking football event that I was at. St John Ambulance was there, giving support alongside the Stroke Association—I think, although it might have been Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland. At a lot of events, and certainly a lot of the agricultural shows in Argyll and Bute that I go around, there is an opportunity for people to get refresher training. There are also good online resources on the Save a Life for Scotland website.